Node Command Bootstrap

This library implements a convenient way to jumpstart your CLI toolbox programmed in node. Based on the symfony/console component for PHP, you can use this library to quickly generate a CLI application containing any number of scripts, and the generated application will have a comprehensive help system which adheres many CLI best practices.

To install this library, run:

npm i @holkerveen/command-bootstrap

Creating your first command

Let's dive in by creating a traditional hello world command.

At its core, all you need to do is create a class that implements CommandInterface and then register your command!

// /src/Hello.ts
import {CommandInterface} from "@holkerveen/command-bootstrap";

export class Hello implements CommandInterface {

    description(): string {
        return "Show message";
    }

    help(): string {
        return "This command will show a message";
    }

    configure(): void {
        // empty
    }

    execute(): number {
        console.log(`Hello world!`);
        return 0;
    }

}

Now, create a base app. Its task will be to register all your commands and then invoke the bootstrap code.

// /src/cli.ts
import {Hello} from "./Hello";
import {Cli} from "@holkerveen/command-bootstrap";

const cli = new Cli();
cli.add('hello', Hello);
cli.run();

When done, you can compile (transpile) and run your command. Use any build tool you like. Example:

npx webpack

Now run the cli script:

node index.js

As you have not specified a command, it will show the list of available commands. If all is well, your commmand should be in that list as well! Congratulations :-). If you want to see the extended help message (which we defined in the description function), run:

node index.js help hello

Finally, to run your command itself:

node index.js hello

Add an argument

The empty configure function is where you can define your cli arguments and options. For that, we need to include our helper and use addArgument to add an argument:

class Hello {
    
    // ...

    private helper: CommandHelper;
    constructor() {
        this.helper = new CommandHelper;
    }

    configure(): void {
        this.helper.addArgument('name', true, 'Name to say hello to');
    }
    // ...
}

In this example, 'name' is the handle by which we can reference the argument in our code, true means that the argument is required (use false otherwise), and the third parameter is a short help text explaining its meaning. Next, we can modify your console.log function to update include the argument value in our message:

class Hello {
    
    // ...

    execute(): number {
        console.log(`Hello ${this.helper.getArgumentValue('name')}`);
        return 0;
    }
    // ...
}

Add an argument

The same helper can be used to include a command line option:

class Hello {
    // ...

    configure(): void {
        this.helper.addArgument('name', true, 'Name to say hello to');
        helper.addOption('shout','s', "bool", false, "Shout your hello");
    }

    // ...
}

In this example, 'shout' is the name of the switch, 's' is the short version, "bool" indicates that this is a boolean option, false is the default value, and the last parameter is again a quick explanation of the option.

In the execute function, use the getOptionValue function to retreive its value:

class Hello {
    
    // ...

    execute(): number {
        let message = `Hello ${this.helper.getArgumentValue('name')}`; 
        if(this.helper.getOptionValue('shout')) {
            message = message.toUpperCase();
        }
        console.log(message);
        return 0;
    }
    // ...
}

Better help messages

Finally, there is a helper function that will automatically generate usage instructions for your extended help text. While completely optional, you could modify your help function as follows to get proper, standardized usage instructions:

class Hello {
    // ...

    help(): string {
        return "Show message\n\n" + this.helper.getUsage();
    }

    // ...
}

Feedback

I would like to hear from you! Please drop me a line if this lib is to your liking, or if you have ideas to improve on it!